An increasing number of refugees are fleeing Ukraine without family in Europe to help them, while the number of lone children crossing the borders is rising, aid agencies are warning.
The most recent arrivals to countries surrounding Ukraine have few family ties, nowhere to go and are deeply traumatised, according to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC). And their needs are potentially greater as they have fled the conflict later – at the point when the fighting reached their homes – with fewer possessions or resources, it said.
One DEC charity partner, providing aid in Poland, said the fastest-growing group is those who stayed in Ukraine “until they really had no choice but to run”. This compares to earlier cohorts who had predominantly left to join family in Europe.
